Welterweight

The UFC is reportedly bringing a lineup full of established veterans and newly-signed prospects to its promotional debut in Sweden this spring for UFC on FUEL TV 2, which will take place on April 14 at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm.

Among the bouts expected to be televised on the event's main card is former WEC light heavyweight champion Brian Stann's return to action against fellow striker Alessio Sakara in a middleweight bout.

The Daily Recap is a collection of news and notes from around the web that will be posted at the end of each day. Bout signings, injury news and much more can all be found here.

— The UFC has officially announced that it will be heading to Sweden for the first in the promotion's history on April 14 for UFC on FUEL TV 2, which will likely take place at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm. The UFC's foray into Sweden was long rumored and was also scheduled to happen last November before conflicts arose. The event will be the second live show televised on FUEL TV under the new FOX deal. [UFC.com]

— WWE champion CM Punk will reportedly escort UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen to the cage prior to his pivotal showdown against Mark Munoz in the co-main event of UFC on Fox II on January 28 in Chicago, Illinois. CM Punk is well-known as an avid fan of MMA as well as a native of the Chicago area. He and Sonnen have reportedly developed a friendship in recent months. [MMA Fighting]

Less than a month since their last venture, Strikeforce kicks off the New Year with another event on Showtime. Saturday night’s main event features upstart Luke Rockhold making the first defense of his Strikeforce middleweight crown against seasoned UFC veteran Keith Jardine.

The Daily Recap is a collection of news and notes from around the web that will be posted at the end of each day. Bout signings, injury news and much more can all be found here.

— The UFC today announced a pair of bouts for UFC 145, which is slated for the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on March 24. Mark Hominick will attempt to bounce back from a devastating knockout loss to Chan Sung Jung in a featherweight bout against California fight scene veteran Eddie Yagin. In addition, skilled grappler Mark Bocek will lock horns in a pivotal lightweight affair against "Ultimate Fighter" alumnus Matt Wiman. [UFC.com]

— Just one day after it was announced that Ken Stone would face Mike Easton on the undercard of UFC on FX 1, the Massachusetts native has been forced to withdraw from the bout due to an undisclosed injury suffered during a recent training session. A replacement opponent for Easton has not yet been named. [MMA Weekly]

The Daily Recap is a collection of news and notes from around the web that will be posted at the end of each day. Bout signings, injury news and much more can all be found here.

— Strikeforce's first event of the new year, which features middleweight champion Luke Rockhold putting his belt on the line against longtime UFC veteran Keith Jardine, will be part of Showtime's annual free preview weekend, which begins Friday, January 6 and runs through Sunday, January 8. Additional bouts set for the televised portion of the card include Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal returning against Lorenz Larkin and Robbie Lawler facing Adlan Amagov. [Showtime]

— Another edition of UFC Primetime has been set to profile next month's interim UFC welterweight title bout between former Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz and one-time WEC belt holder Carlos Condit. It will be the first time that the three-episode mini-series has aired on FX. The first episode will air on January 20 and subsequent ones will premiere on January 27 and February 3. [UFC.com]

War Machine, the fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, has once again joined the Bellator Fighting Championships ranks after being originally released by the promotion following disparaging political comments two years ago.

The "TUF" product is coming off of an impressive stoppage of fellow UFC veteran Roger Huerta in a return bout last month, the first time War Machine fought since before being incarcerated for over a year.

“Jon’s not had an easy road,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a press release to the media. “And there’s no doubt he’s made some poor choices, but after having had conversations with him since his release, he really seems to understand where and why things went wrong and wants to make them right. And, when he’s focused on nothing but training and fighting, he’s a talented and exciting fighter. I hope he’s able to turn this second chance into something positive.”

It's hard to believe that another major UFC event is upon us, but UFC 140 is just days away. Emanating from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the UFC's second visit to what could be MMA's biggest fan base features Jon Jones making the second defense of the UFC light heavyweight title against the ever-elusive Lyoto Machida.

Other high-profile main card bouts include a pivotal rematch between former heavyweight champions and opposing "TUF" coaches Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as well as Tito Ortiz attempting to stave off retirement once more against the younger Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

After the jump is a preview of the main card, including a breakdown of the storylines leading into each fight as well as what to look for during the bouts.

After today's disappointing news about a torn ACL, surgery and potential recovery time of nearly a year, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre admits that he's going to have to work his way back to the top... literally.

St. Pierre and his doctor, Sebastian Simard, held a conference call with the media today to discuss the details related to the injury and what St. Pierre's plan for recovery is.

According to Simard, the problems all started when St. Pierre originally hurt his knee in preparation for Carlos Condit and was forced to pull out of that bout. Things were fine again after some physical therapy, but bad luck struck again on a different knee during a recent training session.

In another unfortunate turn of events regarding Georges St. Pierre, the longtime UFC welterweight champion has suffered a torn ACL and will be sidelined for nearly a year.

UFC President Dana White announced the news early Tuesday. Due to St. Pierre's anticipated lengthy layoff, top contender and one-time Strikeforce welterweight title holder Nick Diaz will face former WEC champion Carlos Condit for the interim UFC welterweight belt at UFC 143 on February 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

St. Pierre was slated to face Diaz in a highly-awaited matchup at the event. A previously scheduled bout between St. Pierre and Diaz for this past October was scrapped after Diaz failed to show up to multiple pre-fight media requirements.